Security Concerns Raised Over Foreign Office Restructuring
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is facing significant criticism over plans to scrap its dedicated migration and conflict directorate, with MPs warning the move threatens UK security and undermines vital peace-building work. The directorate, which employs approximately 100 civil servants, is scheduled to be abolished by the end of this year, with its responsibilities being absorbed into other departments.
Expertise at Risk in Global Trouble Spots
The migration and conflict directorate provides crucial advice and technical support to governments and civil society groups operating in numerous conflict zones worldwide. Its work spans trouble spots including Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and the Philippines, where it has played a key role in conflict resolution and peace-building initiatives.
This closure comes despite Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper recently stating that the FCDO was stepping up efforts to support peace-building. The decision forms part of a broader restructuring that threatens around 2,000 jobs – representing approximately a quarter of the department's workforce – and has significantly damaged morale among diplomatic staff.
Warnings from Parliament and Unions
Sarah Champion, Labour chair of the international development committee, expressed grave concerns about the timing and impact of these cuts. We already know the UK's aid cuts will be devastating, she stated, adding that removing expert teams in critical areas like conflict prevention before finalising where cuts will fall would exacerbate the damage.
Champion has called for an immediate pause to both staffing reductions and the restructuring process, warning that if ministers proceed without adequate planning, lives will be put at risk and prized FCDO expertise will be permanently lost.
The all-party parliamentary group on conflict prevention has also intervened, with chairs Alex Ballinger and Lord McConnell writing to deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins urging reconsideration of the directorate's closure.
Ballinger emphasised that conflict undermines the UK's own security when it escalates and crosses borders, making it a serious error to lose the unit's specialised knowledge. He warned that without this capability, the UK would be less equipped to address human suffering in places like Sudan and tackle conflict-driven disruptions affecting regions like the Red Sea, which ultimately impact consumer prices.
Meanwhile, the Public and Commercial Services union has formally lodged a dispute with the FCDO over insufficient consultation regarding the staff reductions.
Government Defence of Restructuring
An FCDO spokesperson defended the changes, describing claims that conflict resolution objectives would be downgraded as utter nonsense. They stated that the department is undergoing modernisation to become more agile and focused on key strategic priorities, including tackling illegal migration and preventing conflict.
The spokesperson confirmed that illegal migration will receive its own dedicated directorate in the new structure, while conflict prevention and resolution remain critically important, with hundreds of staff in the UK and overseas working toward peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.
However, this reassurance comes against the backdrop of broader financial pressures, with Permanent Secretary Oliver Robbins telling MPs in July that the FCDO faces real-terms budget cuts and is affected by the reduction in international aid spending to 0.3% of national income.
